Piano-forte



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

' P. W. HALE.

PIANO FORTE.

Patented Jan. 15, 1889.

INVENTUR. flaw; n /(a N. PETERS. Phcro-Lrflwgraphcr. Washmglcn. u. c.

3 SheetsSheet 2.

(No Model.)

B. W. HALE.

PIANO FORTE.

No. 396,155. Patented Jan. 15, 1889.

INVENTUR fiylw; WHQ L 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

F. W.- HALE.

PIANO FORTE.

.6 Jam 15 I880 Phulo-Ulhogrnph UNITED STATES PATENT @rrica.

FRANCIS ll". HALE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PIANO-FORTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 396,155, dated January 15, 1889.

Application filed May 7, 1888. $erial No. 273,100. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS W. HALE, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Piano-Fortes, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

The objectot' my invention is to so improve that class of piano-fortes with which a click or dummy action combined that by a single motion of a lever all of the hammers may be pressed forward to the strings and all of the stickers be raised upward out of the ac tion of the keys; also, in case the stickers are attached to the keys, as they arein some cases, then the jacks may be thrown out of working action; also, in combining with the keys a series of levers adapted to hold the keys up and arranged to be adjusted so as to resist any desired degree of pressure on the keys; also, to connect with the keys a device by which an electric sounder may be operated to indicate the exact character and relative time of the players praci ice; also, in several minor details, which may be best understood by reference to the specification and drawings. These objects I attain by the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l. is an end elevation (casing being removed) showing the working parts or action. Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing all that part of the action above the keys more in detail, some parts being omitted to prevent confusion in the drawing. Fig. 3 is an enlarged view showing the mechanism (located beneath the keys) by which an adjustable resilience or resistance to pressure is given to the keys, and also showing in end section the electric click device. Fig. 4- shows in elevation parts relating to the adjustable resilience device. Fig. shows in perspective the electric click arrangement and a diagram illustrating the switch-connections with the battery and sounder, and Fig. 6 is an enlarged cl evation of details.

As most of the action above the keys is ol' ordinary construction, but a brief description may be given.

In the drawings, Fig. l, A represents the key-board of the piano-forte, A one of the keys, and A the pin upon which the key oscillates; and A Figs. 1 and 2, represents one of the stickers.

Now, referring to Fig. 2, F. E is a bracket, of which there are two, one at each end of the piano-forte. These brackets are connected together by rails A, B", and C", and together with said rails form a frame to which the action is connected. The brackets E are connected at their lower end to the body of the piano by a pin, E, and at their upper ends by bolts E with the sounding-board F.

The sticker A is not attached directly to the key, but simply rests upon it, and held in place bya link, A, said link A being pivoted at a to the sticker and at a to the extension or sticker rail A. The upper end of the sticker A is attached to the lever B by a pi vot, (1 the lever B being attached by a pivot, Z), to a bracket, B", extendingdownward from the flange-rail l3. On the lever B a small pro jec-tion, 13, is attached, which serves to support the lower end of the jack B the said jack B being pivoted to it at h.

B is a small spring under the toe of the jack 3' which serves to throw the upper end of the jack B under the shoulder of the hammer-piece C. The hammer (1 C C is pivoted at c, and is provided with a check or back-stop, C, which in the rebound comes in contact with the stop B, attached by a stem, B to the lever ll.

ll isa stop attached by an armio the flangerail B and serves by checking the upward action of the toe of the jack l to throw the upper end of the said jack out from under the shoulder of the hammer-piece C, and thus allow the hammer to drop back. This action takes place while the lever B is ascendingthat is, while the key is being depressed; but when the lever 13 descends the toe, no longer controlled by the stop B", is thrown upward into place and the upper end of the jack back to its resting position under the shoulder of the hammer-piece C.

The damper device consists of a lever, D, pivoted at (l to a projection, 13*, attached to the flange-rail B. This lever D has at its upper end a stem, D to the upper end of which the damper D is attached.

D is a spring attached to the flange-rail B,

which serves to throw the damper 1)" onto the wire, unless the same is forced away by the movement of the lever B.

The device for throwing the damper away from the string consist-s of an upright, 'D, usually called a spoon, attached to the lever B behind the pivot b, so that the upward movement of the forward part of the lever 15, which, as has been explained, causes the hammer to dart forward to strike the wire, will at the same time, acting through the spoon D, throw the lower end of the lever D backward, thus causing the upper end of the said lever to move forward and withdraw the damper D" from the wire.

\Vhen it is desirable to throw the hammers out of action, so that the pupil may practice on the keys with the click attachment, the following device is used, (see Figs. 1 and 5:) G is a lever pivoted at G, its rear end passing under the forward end of the lever B. To the front end of the lever G, I have a rod, G which serves to connect the said lever G with a hand-lever, G (See Fig. i.) This handlever G is pivoted at Gr and has a swinging handle, G, pivoted to it at g. This swinging handle is so formed that when in use it can be turned up so as to become parallel with the lever G a shoulder preventing it from going any higher unless the lever Gk moves with it. By moving up the forward end of the lever G by means of the handle G the rear end is depressed, and, acting through the rod G the forward end of the lever G is drawn down, thus throwing up the rear end, G (see Fig. 2,) causing the levers I; to be raised up so as to withdraw the stickers A from the action of the keys. At the same time that this action is taking place the bent lever G kl (see Fig. 6) is thrown forward by the cam-like action of the end G of the lever G upon the part G thus causing the upper end of the lever G to move against the hammer-stem rail 0', (see Figs. 1 and 2,) and, forcing it backward, causes it to throw all of of the hammers back onto the wires and there hold them.

In some pianos the stickers are attached to the keys and it is not. practical to lift the le vers B by the lever G, as has been described. In this case I place a rod, B Fig. 2, immediately behind the jacks B This rod 13 is connected to a lever, (not shown,) by which it may be drawn forward against the jacks, and thus throw their upper ends out from under the. shoulder of the hammer-piece C, so that, although the keys may be played upon, the hammers will not be moved.

The device by which an adjustable resilience or resistance to pressure is given to the keys is shown in Fig. 3, and maybe described as follows:

H, Figs. 1 and 3, represents a metallic plate, of which there are two, one at each end of the piano. These end plates, H, are securely attached to each other. by means of the longitudinal strips H H and the rail H Upon the rail II, I have two sets of standards, II II, adapted to hold the regulating-levers L. The pivotat one of these levers is shown at L, and there are as many of these levers as there are keys on the instrument. Levers L, that are used for the sharps, are pivoted upon the standard ll", while the levers for the white keys are pivoted upon the standard H. Each lever L is connected to its respective key by a sticker like L Figs. 1 and 3. To the rear end of the lever L, I attach a link, L, by means of a pivot, L The lower end of the link L is attached by a pivot L to a lever, L, which swings on a pivot, M, in the standard M L is a cord, which serves to connect the upper end of the lever L with the spring L This cord may be of linen or any other flexible material. The standards M are all attached to a rail, M said rail I being aifixed at each end to segment-gears M M. Said segment-gears M M swing on pivots, as indicated at M, and are operated by pinions M, attached to a central shaft, M, said shaft M extending from one end of the piano to the other. In Fig. 1 I have shown a device for swinging these segments. This device consists of a hand-wheel, M", shaft M, and worm M said worm M operating upon one of the pinions M, and through its shaft to the corresponding pinion at the other end of the piano.

From the above description it will be seen that as the key descends it, acting through the sticker L", will cause the outer end of the lever L to ascend; but this ascent is resisted by the action of the spring L Thus if the forward end of the lever L descends its rear end must be elevated, and, acting through the link L, raiselthe lowerend, of theleverL, and thus throwing the upper end of the lever'L back, so as to strain on the spring L. In fact, the resilience exerted by the lever L is in proportion to the tension on the spring-L so that if the gear-segnumt M is thrown backward it will carry the levers L, and, increasing the tension of the spring will increase the resilience of the lever L; but if the segments M and all theirpartsare swmngforwanl, then the tension on the spring L will be decreased, and the resilience of the lever L will consequently be decreased. Thus by simple movement of the segment-pieces M and their connecting parts (by means of the hand-wheel M, Fig. l, ashas already been described) any degree of resilience maybe givei'i to the lever L.

An important advantage is gained by arranging the resilient device as above required, viz: The force required to press the key down diminishes as the key descends. This fact will become evidentby comparing the position of the lever L, cord L and spring L as they appear in full line, Fig. 3, (that is, in the position they occupy when the key is not depressed,) with the position the same parts occupy (indicated by dotted lines) when the key is depressed, in which it will be seen that the spring L acting through the cord L acts much more directly and with more force to pull the upper end of the lever L forward when the key is not depressed, as indicated by the full lines, than it can act when the le ver L is in the position indicated by the dotted lines. To illustrate, if we imagine the lever L so turned as to become parallel to the cord L then the power of the spring L will be completely counteracted or nullified, while if the lever L should assume a position at right angles to the cord L then the spring L would have its full efficiency.

A point of special mention is found in the position and motion of the rail M as related to the lever L, the link L, and the spring L as I will now explain. \Vhen the rail M is brought forward in the direction of the spring L the amount of force required to operate the lever L is at its minimum for two reasons viz., the spring has but little tension and the position of the short lever L is as shown in Fig. i. This causes the draft of the spring through the cord L to lie nearer in line with the lever, and consequently is of diminished power. If, however, the rail M is moved away from the spring L it not only increases the tension of the spring through the cord L", but as the lever assumes the position of the heavy lines shown in Fig. 3 the power of the spring is made doubly effective. 3y means of this combination I can use a much lighter spring, and not only save expense and avoid the in j urious results of a series of very stiff springs, but produce a more even and satisfactory touch.

The resisting-bar If is for the purpose of retarding the upwardmotion of the key, soas to avoid the thumping sound produced by the lever L striking when it comes back to its point of rest. When the spring L is drawn forward, the lever L is drawn down behind the spring L by its own spring L, as shown in dotted lines of Fig. 3. If at this point the finger is instantly taken from the key above, the spring L is unable to overcome the resistance of the spring L through the lever L rapidly enough to cause the lever L to thump when it reaches its point of rest. The shape of the spring L and the lever L effectually prevent the lever L from clogging. The rocker L serves the purpose of regulating the lever L.

Before describing that part of my invention which relates to the click device I will briefly explain its use.

In piano technique two things are of special importanceviz., i'n scales and arpeggios a perfect legato and in chords a simultaneous act-ion of every finger-i. e., key. I accomplish the former (i. 6., legato) by use of an open -circuit electrical connection, as illustrated in Fig. If a perfect legato is being performed, there will be no click from the sounder after the first, since one'finger does not leave the key.'2'. 6., break the circuituntil the next has taken its place. In regulating the point at which the circuit shall be made I prefer to do so very near the bottom of the dip of the key as it descends, and the same to be broken at the same point as the key ascends, although it may be regulated at any point of the keys dip.

I accomplish the click for irregular chord or octave technique by means of a closed circuit, as shown in Fig. 5, instead of an open circuit,as I believe the action of the magnet is more rapid and positive in this case and a more pi'afcct result is obtained. I can, however, use an open circuit for this purpose as well as for the legato touch. If the notes of a chord are not struck simultaneously, the circuit will be broken and madeby each key and a corresponding click from the sounder will be given for each; but if the keys are all struck simultaneously one click only will be heard in the descending action and one in the ascending action. I mute either the downward or the upward contact of the sounder, usually the former, which prevents a double click for one motion of the keythat is, one when the circuit is broken and one when it is 1nadeas explained in connection with Fig. l.

The click device used in this instrument is shown in Figs. 3 and i, and maybe described as follows: A click-rail,I, Fig. 3' extends from one end of the piano to thc other and has upon it as many click devices as there are keys, which are operated by the respective levers L, each lever L having a click-striker, L. The clicks themselves each consist s ofa springplate, I I P I, which is attached by a screw, S, to the click-rail R. The prongs P" P of the springplate l are about oncsixtccnth of an inch apart. Each, also, has a contact-hm]; of metal, I 1", and a clintact-spring, R. (Sec Figs. 23 and 5.) The contact-springs are each attached to a strip, R of metal; (See 3 and 5.) As has already been stated, I arrange my electric connections for using either a closed or an open circuit. The closed circuit consists of the following system: Startin from the zinc of the battery, the line passes through Z to the sounder T, thence through the line Z switch-point Z", line Z Z Z to the spring plate I of the last click, from thence to the contact-hook P P, thence through 7. to the spring-plate of next to the last click, thence to the corresponding contact-hook, and so on through all of the clicks until it reaches the first one. Thence the current takes the line Z and Z to the switch-point Z". Xoivthe current passes through the end S of 1 he switch, the said swltch l'ioing in the position indicated by the dotted lines, thence through the metal plate S and the line li K to the carbon of the battery. When the lines are thus arranged, it will be seen that the circuit is closed and the sounder held down so long as the part P of the spring-plate I touches the contacthook P P; but if the said circuit is broken by the downward action of the key a click will be heard. This circuit stays broken until the part P" of the spring-plate P is suffi- IIO ciently depressed to bring it down upon the contact-hook P P, which recloses the circuit; but I mute the sounder, so that there shall be but one click for a single motion of the key. The upward motion of the key pro duces the same conditions and corresponding click as the downward motion just explained. It will now be seen that if one key descends in advance of another sufficiently to allow it to open and close the circuit before the other reaches the spring-plate P there will be two distinct clicks before both keyshave reached the bottom of their dip, while if both reach the spring-pla e P at the same instant but one click will be made, as should also occur from any number of keys when struck simultaneously.

To use my legato click device on an open circuit the arrangement is as follows: The switch is placed in position indicated by full lines, in which case the current goes from the zinc through the line Z, sounder T, line Z Z Z Z, spring-plates P of the last click, from thence to the contacthook P P, thence through Z to the spring-plate of the next to the last click, thence to the corresponding contacthook, and so on through all of the clicks until it reach es the first one. Thence the current takes the line Z to the switch-point Z Thence it couples through the part 8* of the switch back to the ZlllC of the battery through the line Z 7; Z, &c. Thus it will be seen that I have a double line from the zinc of the battery extending from the switch-point Z entirely through the click. The carbon line starts from the carbon through K and K to the plates thence through the part S of the switch to the switch-point K, thence through K to the metal strip R to which all of the click-springs are attached.

From the above description it will be seen that no circuit is made unless some one of the spring-plates P be so depressed as to bring it in contact with the corresponding clickspring R. This closes the circuit, and, bringing down the sounder, gives the required click, which will be repeated as soon as the click plate P is released. The sounder is not muted as in the closed circuit.

If under the conditions above described a key be made to descend until the springplate P comes in contact with the click-spring R, the circuit will be closed and a single click heard, and so long as the circuit is kept closed by the first key no other key is able to produce a second click.

The contact of the spring-plate P with the click-spring R is made after the key has spent two-thirds of its dip, and which is usually from one-sixteenth'to one-eighth of an inch from the bottom of the dip. The

click-spring is carried down by the key after the contact has been made until the key reaches the bottom of the dip, thus keeping the circuit closed until the key has returned to its point of contact. It will now be seen that in order to operate the keys so that no click shall be heard after the first one the performer must bring each successive key down to the point of contact 011 or before the previous key has returned to that point. If

this is done, a perfect legato touch is attained.

I also make use of the open legato circuit alonei. e.,without combining with the closed circuit, as above explained. YVhenused alone, the spring-plates P, Fig. 3, would be attached to a metal strip, (not shown,) but in the same manner as are the click-springs E. This metal strip would be continuous with the zinc line of the battery, and the metal strip to which the click-springs are attached being continuous with carbon line of the battery. If now the spring-plate and elickspring are brought into contact, the circuit is closed and a single click heard, which is repeated when the circuit is broken.

In order that the resisting-bars L", Fig. 4, shall only retard the backward motion of the spring L when there is sufficient tension to cause the lever L, Fig. 3, to thump, I have devised the following mechanism:

L Figs. 3 and 4, is a continuous shaft, which is held in position and rotates in the brackets Fig. 1, attached to the plates H, Fig. 1.

L, Fig. 4, is an arm welded to the shaftL.

L is a small rod running under all of the resisting-bars I." and attached to the arms L and extending parallel with L.

The shaft L has firmly attached to it at each end a crank-arm, L, the empower ends of which are attached bya pivot at L to the link If, said link L being attached by a pivot at L to the segment M. (See Fig. 4.) 1f now the segments M are rotated forward, (reducing the tension on the spring L the link L will, acting through the crank-arm L cause the shaft L to rotate, and thus (acting through the arms L throw up the rod L which will lift all of the resisting-bars L upward out of the way of the springs L as shown in Fig. l. The lifting of the resisting-bars L takes place only when the forward movement of the segments M have brought the lever L so far forward as to greatly lessen the tension of the spring L so much, in fact, that it (the spring) will no longer have sufficient force to cause the lever I. to thump. This allows the keys to have the least possible resistance-that is, just enough to bring them back to place.

I claim 1. In a piano-forte, the combination of the hand-lever Gr G rod G and lever G, having an extension, G adapted to lift the levers l3 and to throw forward the upper end of the lever G, with the hammer-stem rail C substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a piano-forte, the combination of the key A sticker L and lever L, with the link IIO L", lever J, cord L and spring L all operatl ing together substantially as described, and Q for the purpose set forth.

3. In a piano-forte, the combination of the 3 key A, sticker L lever L, link L lever L, cord L and spring Liwith swinging segment mechanism M M M, all operating together i substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a piano-forte, the combination of the lever L, link L", lever L, cord L and spring Liwith the resisting-bar L", spring L, and rocker L substantially as described, and for j the purpose set forth.

5. In a piano-forte, the combination of the segment M, link L crank-arm L shat't L, arm L, and rod L with the resisting-bars L, all operating together substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth. l

6. In a piano-forte, the combination of the key A, sticker L lever L, and click-striker 1 L, with the spring-plate P P P P and the i eontact-hook P P, adapted to make and break an electric circuit, subsiant'ialb as described, and for the purpose set forth.

'7. In a piano-forte, the combination of the clickstriker L and spring-plate P I P I with the contact-hook P P, adapted to make and break an electric circuit, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a piano-forte, the combination of the key A, sticker L lever L, and click-striker L, with the spring-plate l P I" and spring-brace R, adapted to make and break an electric circuit, substantiallyas described, and for the purpose set forth.

.9. In a )iano-torte, the combination of the click-striker I. with the spring-plate P P P I and wring-brace R, adapted to make and break an electric circuit, substantially as described, and for the purpose set Forth.

FRAYCIS W. HALE.

'itnesses: 7

FRANK G. PARKER, MATTHEW M. BLUNT. 

